The present invention relates generally to surgical instruments and more particularly to a surgical retractor well suited to harvesting saphenous veins for use in coronary bypass operations.
Harvesting segments of the saphenous vein from the leg is a surgical procedure associated with coronary artery surgery. In general, segments of the patient""s saphenous vein are removed, divided and repositioned in the coronary arterial system to improve coronary blood flow.
Early harvesting techniques involved conventional surgical cut down and open dissection of the leg to harvest the vein. In general less invasive procedures are preferred and several surgical devices have been developed to facilitate this procedure. See for example the xe2x80x9cMini Harvestxe2x80x9d system manufactured by U.S. Surgical Corp. and the xe2x80x9cVasoViewxe2x80x9d system manufactured by Origin as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,480 to Knight et al. In general these systems are relatively complex and cumbersome in use although they are preferred over open dissection.
In contrast to the prior art, the surgical retractor of the present invention is an easily manipulated illuminated device for insertion into the surgical wound to illuminate the surgical field. In use the device is manipulated by the physician and can be used to expose sections of the vein and it may be used to facilitate blunt dissection along the length of the vein. In operation the device can be used to simultaneously retract tissue and illuminate the surgical field at the same location. The illustrated embodiments of the device include a light source located near the distal tip of the retractor with an integral or remote power source of the light source.